As the pandemic wears on, Ferrier says it’s important for the bank to find new and different ways to achieve an effective hybrid workplace and prevent the ‘fraying’ of the company’s culture and employees’ connection to its overall mission.

Bringing intentionality to office experiences

The past two years have fundamentally changed how we define the role of work in our lives. With this, Microsoft’s newly released 2022 Work Trend Index found that employees’ “worth it” equation – or what people want from work and what they’re willing to give in return – has also changed. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in the role of the office and whether workspaces are worth the commute. The 2022 Work Trend Index found that leaders must establish the why, when, and how of the office, which means redesigning the physical space to optimise for hybrid work, defining the purpose of in-person collaboration, and reaching a consensus on creating team agreements that clarify when to come together in-person. It is with this level of intentionality in redefining the role of the office that organisations can realise the true benefits of hybrid work. [caption id="attachment_50994" align="alignleft" width="438"] Image of NAB's new customer lounge in Melbourne office

Image of NAB's new customer lounge in Melbourne office

NAB's new office in Melbourne is designed to maximise employee flexibility and collaboration (Source: NAB)[/caption] It is this intentionally that NAB is channelling as it welcomes back staff who have been working from home. “There is value to be gained from in-person connection, in-person collaboration. And we feel like you soak up the culture if you’re in and around our buildings,” Ferrier says. “Our new buildings in Sydney, Melbourne, and Parramatta, are deliberately designed for heightened collaboration. There are a countless number of curated spaces to come together as a team and produce work that benefits from ideas being workshopped. NAB’s buildings have been created to support the idea that work is no longer a place where employees sit in a cubicle all day. Rather, it’s a place where people move around according to the work they are doing. “There’s also a whole lot of surrounding collateral in our buildings that you don’t see if you’re sitting on your screen [at home],” Ferrier adds. “You might be walking along a corridor and there’s a poster about “How We Work” strategy or a big whiteboard that says, ‘Tell us what you think’. There are those moments when you’re in transition where you’re taking in, almost subliminally, what it’s like to work here at NAB. Those moments aren’t easily replicable in a digital environment.”

Using technology to rebuild social capital

For NAB, hybrid working involves two to three days in the office, and the rest at home. Ferrier thinks most employees are looking for a blend of both. ‘In our recent survey, almost 50% of employees said a key challenge of the pandemic has been the lack of social interaction with their teams.

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